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Concurrent chemoradiotherapy has become the standard of care for patients with inoperable squamous cell head and neck carcinoma. More recently, induction chemotherapy has been adopted as an approach in the management of these patients. We report the results of a phase II trial associating induction chemotherapy and concomitant chemoradiotherapy in a series of patients with inoperable squamous cell head and neck cancer. Twenty-nine patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma ineligible for surgery were enrolled. Induction chemotherapy with docetaxel 75 mg/m(2) and cisplatin 75 mg/m(2) every 21 days was administered for two cycles. Radiotherapy followed the induction phase. During radiotherapy, docetaxel was administered weekly at the dose of 33 mg/m(2) . Primary end point of the study was feasibility of treatment. Six (18%) patients failed to conclude the treatment schedule. Although response rates in evaluable patients were very high (disease control rate >90%), toxicities were a matter of concern. The reported treatment schedule proved infeasible. However, some modifications in ancillary therapies aimed at exploiting its efficacy could make it practicable.

Objective: Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) may be useful in the diagnosis and detection of early stage mesothelioma. We investigated the SMRP upfront predictive role for mesothelioma in asbestos-exposed workers. Methods: A total of 1,715 subjects underwent a first visit and were invited for a follow-up after 1 and 2 years, with a clinical examination and blood sampling. SMRP was measured by an ELISA assay. Results: Median SMRP at the first visit was 0.45 [interquartile range (IQR) i.e. 25th-75th percentile: 0.30-0.67 nmol/l]. In all, 1,676 subjects (97.8%) were followed up for a median period of 47.1 months. SMRP was measured at the first visit and at both follow-up visits in 1,536 subjects. At follow-up, 3 subjects were diagnosed with an epithelioid mesothelioma. In these cases, SMRP at the first visit ranged from 0.17 to 0.52 nmol/l. Malignant pleural mesothelioma was diagnosed 9-17 months after the last SMRP evaluation. No SMRP variation was observed during the follow-up. Other 61 miscellaneous cancers were diagnosed (median SMRP at first visit: 0.50 nmol/l, IQR: 0.34-0.71 nmol/l). Conclusions: Our results did not support the usefulness of SMRP as an early marker for the detection of the disease for a time interval of 1 year.

The soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP), a candidate marker for screening of subjects with asbestos exposure, is influenced by some individual and clinical factors. The aim of this study was to quantify the role of age, smoking, weight, presence of diseases and exposure to asbestos on serum SMRP levels in a large series of subjects exposed to asbestos, possible candidates for mesothelioma screening. One thousand seven hundred and four participants underwent clinical examination and were interviewed on medical anamnesis, occupation, smoking and weight. SMRP was measured by an ELISA assay. Overall, median SMRP was 0.4 (IQR 25-75: 0.3-0.7) nmol/l. It was higher in current smokers and in subjects with a cumulative asbestos exposure50 ff/cc/years than in all the other subjects (p0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). SMRP was positively correlated with age (ρ = 0.11, p0.001) and, inversely, with BMI (ρ = -0.15, p0.001). SMRP was lower in healthy subjects (n = 1,217: median 0.4 nmol/l) than in subjects with malignant tumors (n = 118: 0.5 nmol/l; p = 0.01), asbestos-related pleural lesions (plaques or thickenings, n = 152: 0.6 nmol/l; p0.001) and other benign diseases (n = 182: 0.5 nmol/l; p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis revealed significant predictors of increased SMRP: age57 years, current smoking, a positive anamnesis for cancer and for asbestos-related pleural lesions, and BMI25. Some clinical and demographic variables are associated with serum SMRP levels. The degree of these associations is low, nevertheless they should be accounted for in the interpretation of SMPR as a candidate marker predictive of mesothelioma. The potential predictive value of serum SMRP in screening/surveillance programs must be validated in prospective studies.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity and toxicity of pemetrexed and carboplatin combination as first-line chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Patients and methods Patients with measurable advanced MPM and a zero to two Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) were enrolled. The schedule was pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 in combination with carboplatin area under the curve 5, every 21 days. In all, 76 patients were treated. Median age was 65 years; median ECOG PS was zero. Results Grade 3 hematological toxicity according to World Health Organization criteria was seen in 36 (47.3%) patients; grade 4 hematological toxicity in 5 (6.5%) patients. There were 16 (21%) partial responses and 3 (4%) complete responses, for an overall response rate of 19 (25%) [95% confidence interval (CI) 15.3–34.7]. In all, 29 (39%) (95% CI 28–48) patients reported stable disease. The median survival was estimated at 14 months. Conclusion This combination of carboplatin and pemetrexed is moderately active and the toxicity is acceptable.

The diagnosis of decompression sickness may be difficult, particularly when patients present with atypical clinical manifestations after dives going on uneventfully and with full adherence to safety parameters. The case reports involve two divers who presented with transient global amnesia (TGA) immediately after surfacing from otherwise regular dives during which they had been breathing hyperoxic mixtures (Nitrox). A wide spectrum of symptoms of neural dysfunction following hyperoxic mixtures have been reported, including cases of memory impairment related to previous generalized convulsions. After a review of the literature, however, we found no previous reports of TGA, which is very unlikely to result from an epileptic mechanism, as an adverse effect of breathing hyperoxic mixtures.

We report on a patient with delayed carbon monoxide encephalopathy who presented with severe cognitive impairment associated with MRI findings of extensive demyelination of the cerebral white matter after a silent period of three weeks from acute intoxication. Despite the severe signs of structural and functional cerebral impairment in the sub-acute stage, the clinical course was favorable but for residual mild dysfunction of the frontal lobes.

Background The screening of both healthcare workers and students attending teaching hospitals for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is recommended in hospitals of many countries with a low-incidence of TB, including Italy, as a fundamental tool of tuberculosis (TB) control programs. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of LTBI and evaluate the main risk-factors associated with this condition in a cohort of healthcare Italian students. Methods In a cross-sectional study, performed between January and May 2012, 881 undergraduate students attending the Medical, Nursing, Pediatric Nursing and Midwifery Schools of the University of Genoa, trained at the IRCCS San Martino-IST Teaching Hospital of Genoa, were actively called to undergo the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). All the TST positive cases were also tested with an Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) to confirm the diagnosis of LTBI. A standardized questionnaire was collected for risk-assessment analysis. Results Seven hundred and thirty-three (83.2%) subjects underwent TST testing. The prevalence of TST positives was 1.4%, and in 4 (0.5%) out of 10 TST positive cases LTBI diagnosis was confirmed by IGRA. No difference in the prevalence of subjects who tested positive to TST emerged between pre-clinical (n = 138) and clinical (n = 595) students. No statistically significant association between TST positivity and age, gender, and BCG vaccination was observed. The main independent variable associated with TST positivity was to be born in a country with a high TB incidence (i.e., ≥20 cases per 100,000 population) (adjusted OR 102.80, 95% CI 18.09-584.04, p

e12518 Background: The soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) is a marker in the diagnosis for mesothelioma. The role of SMRP as a potential screening tool in subjects with a past asbestos exposure is being debated. Objective: to evaluate SMRP and incidence of malignant mesothelioma in an asbestos exposed cohort. Methods: 1,704 subjects (Median Age 62) occupationally exposed to asbestos were enrolled in the study. A questionnaire on individual characteristics, disease history, and occupational or non-occupational exposure to asbestos was administered. All subjectsunderwent clinical examination and collection of serum sample for SMRP measurement that were repeated after 1 and 2 years. The samples were stored at -80 °C until assayed. Results: Median baseline SMRP was 0.45 nmol/l (range 0.1-4.45). SMRP was higher than 1.5 nmol/l (defined as cut-off) in 40 participants. 9 subjects had recognized lung cancer at the time of screening (median baseline SMRP 0.65 nmo/l, range 0.1-1.7) and 109 had recognized tumors at other sites (median 0.52 nmol/l, range 0.1-3.0). Overall, median follow-up of all subjects was 31.5 months During follow-up, recurrent or metastatic tumors were observed in 23 out of 118 tumors. Sixty-one subjects developed a new tumor. An epithelioid pleural mesothelioma occurred in two subjects, 13 and 17 months after the last SMRP evaluation, respectively. Baseline SMRP was 0.52 nmol/l and 0.17 nmol/l, respectively. In subjects with tumor, SMRP increased of 20-50% in 13 subjects (15%), two of them with abnormal SMRP (1 bladder and 1 prostate cancer). An increase greater than 50% was found in 19 subjects (22%). SMRP was higher than the threshold value in 3 tumors (1 lung, 1 colon and 1 prostate, diagnosed 2 months from last SMRP measure). Overall, mesothelin was above the cut-off in 58 subjects without any evidence of neoplastic disease. Conclusions: we cannot confirm the predictive role of SMRP for mesothelioma because we found two cases with low mesothelin levels 13 and 17 months before the diagnosis. The low number of mesotheliomas could be due to the low median age of our population. It will be intriguing to follow up in the future the subjects that showed an increase of SMRP.

Headings The soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) is a candidate marker in the diagnosis and prognosis of mesothelioma, as well as in the screening of subjects with asbestos exposure. SMRP seems to be influenced by some individual characteristics and clinical factors. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between serum SMRP and some individual characteristics in 1704 subjects exposed to asbestos for working reasons. Design and methods Participants underwent clinical examination and were interviewed on medical history, occupational exposure, smoking and weight. SMRP was measured by a ELISA assay. Results Median SMRP was 0.45 (IQR 0.30-0.67) nmol/l. SMRP was correlated with age (p Conclusions Data on a large series of subjects with asbestos exposure confirmed that serum SMRP is associated to a number of clinical and demographic variables. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.